Archive

Imagine living in your bathroom, with a large lock on your door and maybe getting one hour of freedom every now and then to feel the sun on your face and any sense of happiness. Not a life you fancy? Well, luckily most “everyday” people never have to spend time in any type of governmental prison.

However, no babies are born with any type of negativity, phobias, or hatred of themselves or others, all of it is learnt over time and experiences. We all build our own personal prisons on a daily basis, brick by brick. Every situation, experience and moment makes us think and feel, these build up our beliefs and habits.

When I was young, my parents still had the mammoth experience of living through World War II, fresh in their minds, the struggles, rations and even hunger. So, with their nurturing nature, food was a huge part of my formative years. From a chubby toddler, to a chunky child provided me with many opportunities to form negative beliefs about myself, my body and even my abilities related only to the numbers shown on a scale. Fat is an illogical motive for anything, but there are multi-millions of dollars being made all over the globe on the irrational beliefs of people. The river of tears, the negative self-talk and low self-esteem for me and millions of others have all gone to form very high, very solid walls that we can hide behind.

Living behind these prison walls can offer some protection against hurt, pain and insecurities, but at the same time, they keep out happiness, friendship and love. Breaking out of these prisons usually is not a one time process, it takes time to replace one belief for another, but think about those babies and remember everything we believe to be true, are beliefs that we have gained. We can choose to challenge those beliefs if they are no longer helpful in our lives.

Each unhelpful belief that is challenged lets a little more light through that thick wall around us, until the balance of light and dark changes and in turn so does our outlook. Unfortunately, every adult has gained some form of prison, negative beliefs about themselves, the good news is that everyone no matter what age, colour, creed or gender can choose to change. The first step is to realise that change is possible and necessary to living a more fulfilling life, whatever your dreams or goals are.

Self-development is an ongoing process a little bit like following the “Yellow Brick Road to the land of Oz,” there will be obstacles, twists and turns, but the journey is all part of your change experience. Just like Dorothy, finding people to join you on your journey is also important. Losing the negative wizards around you and finding positive ones enhances every stage of your progress.

Is change scary? Yes, of course. Is change hard work? Yes, of course. Is change worthwhile? Yes, of course. All there is now is for you to make the choice to change, then your new chapter starts.